Tennessee Foreclosures Sold at 38% Discount in Second Quarter

Foreclosed homes in Tennessee sold for an average 38.3 percent discount in the second quarter of this year, the fifth-largest discount in the nation according to RealtyTrac data.

That's one of the largest discounts in the nation. Ohio (42.6 percent) Kentucky (40.8 percent), California (39.3 percent) and Michigan (38.9 percent) had the highest discounts, compared to the selling price of non-distressed properties. The nationwide average was 26 percent.

There was better news for home sellers: Foreclosures accounted for only 17.4 percent of Tennessee homes sold in the quarter, compared to 24 percent nationwide.

A total of 248,534 homes nationwide sold in some stage of foreclosure in the second quarter, an increase of nearly 5 percent from the previous quarter, but down 20 percent from the second quarter of 2009.

“While foreclosure sales increased in the second quarter, non-foreclosure sales increased even more, spurred on by the homebuyer tax credit that expired during the quarter,” RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio said in a news release. “That had the net effect of lowering foreclosure sales as a percentage of total sales during the quarter, but that may be a temporary dip, as the removal of the tax credit could drive more buyers back to discounted short sales and REOs.”

Info gathered from Nashville Business Journal

General Mills investing $100M in Murfreesboro-Adding 80 Jobs!

Minneapolis-based General Mills announced today it is investing $100 million to expand its Murfreesboro production facility.

The expansion is expected to bring about 80 jobs to the new plant, which manufactures products for General Mills’ Yoplait brand.

Excerpts from a Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce news release:

Governor Phil Bredesen and Commissioner Matt Kisber, of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, today joined with Rutherford County elected and chamber officials in congratulating General Mills, Inc of Minneapolis, Minn. for the company’s decision to invest $100 million in the expansion of the company’s production facility in Murfreesboro. ...

“I’m very pleased to have one of the world’s most respected food companies growing and thriving in Tennessee,” said Governor Bredesen.

“This expansion is not just an endorsement of Tennessee’s business climate, but in the quality and productivity of the workforce in Murfreesboro.”

“We’ve worked hard to make Tennessee’s business climate one of the best in the U.S.,” said Commissioner Kisber. “When the sixth largest food company in the world chooses Tennessee to grow their business, it means our state is an integral part of a global brand.”

General Mills product brands are well known to consumers around the world and in addition to Yoplait, includes Pillsbury, Green Giant, Cheerios and Betty Crocker. The company has more than 30,000 employees worldwide and its products are marketed to more than 100 countries on six continents around the world.

“General Mills has been a wonderful corporate citizen of our community for many, many years,” said Murfreesboro Mayor Tommy Bragg. “The addition of 80 new jobs to our community will be a strong addition to the local economy.”

“Rutherford County is fortunate that we’ve had such strong partnerships which worked together to make this project a reality,” said Norman Brown, chairman, Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce. “The state of Tennessee, the city of Murfreesboro, Destination Rutherford, TVA and Murfreesboro Electric each brought important skills to the table and helped make this an easy decision for General Mills.”
“TVA was pleased to be a part of the team that helped put this project together,” said John Bradley, senior vice president of economic development for TVA. “Our strong working relationship with local distributors like Murfreesboro Electric demonstrates the importance of working together to create and retain jobs for our customers in the Tennessee Valley.”
The Yoplait line of products is a $1.5 billion business for General Mills and is America’s leading yogurt brand.



Read more: General Mills to invest $100M in Murfreesboro, add 80 jobs - Nashville Business Journal

The Icon

I am currently working with a client that is interested in The Icon. I found some great information and wanted to share. Enjoy :)


The Icon In Nashville is a luxury condominum development with outstanding views of downtown Nashville, and all popular ammenities for the urban lifestyle. Great views of the Gulch and walking distance to awesome restaurants!

Following are the sales of Icon condos so far in 2010. I was surprised to see that the development is almost sold out.

■ 136 Icon condos are sold so far in 2010
■ Average sales price of Icon condos has been $273,105
■ Average price per square ft has been $311
■ Average size of condos sold in the Icon has been 877 square ft
■ 9 Icon condos are currently pending
■ 24 Icon condos are currently listed in the Nashville MLS as available for purchase

To receive a list of available condo's in The Icon email me!

When to Invest in Your Mortgage Instead of Stocks

With rates at record lows, should you accelerate mortgage payments or invest in the market? And what's next for bond investors? Financial adviser Kurt Brouwer, editor of MarketWatch's Fundmastery blog, talks with Jonathan Burton.

10 Reasons to Buy a Home RIGHT NOW!

Enough with the doom and gloom about homeownership. Brett Arends explains why owning a home is a good thing.

Sure, maybe there's more pain to come in the housing market. But when Time magazine starts running covers that declare "Owning a home may no longer make economic sense," it's time to say: Enough is enough. This is what "capitulation" looks like. Everyone has given up.


The Sept. 6 cover of Time magazine: This is what capitulation looks like.
.After all, at the peak of the bubble five years ago, Time had a different take. "Home Sweet Home," declared its cover then, as it celebrated the boom and asked: "Will your house make your rich?"

But it's not enough just to be contrarian. So here are 10 reasons why it's good to buy a home.

1. You can get a good deal. Especially if you play hardball. This is a buyer's market. Most of the other buyers have now vanished, as the tax credits on purchases have just expired. We're four to five years into the biggest housing bust in modern history. And prices have come down a long way– about 30% from their peak, according to Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller Index, which tracks home prices in 20 big cities. Yes, it's mixed. New York is only down 20%. Arizona has halved. Will prices fall further? Sure, they could. You'll never catch the bottom. It doesn't really matter so much in the long haul.

Where is fair value? Fund manager Jeremy Grantham at GMO, who predicted the bust with remarkable accuracy, said two years ago that home prices needed to fall another 17% to reach fair value in relation to household incomes. Case-Shiller since then: Down 18%.

Brett Arends discusses why he thinks now is a particularly good time to buy a home.

2. Mortgages are cheap. You can get a 30-year loan for around 4.3%. What's not to like? These are the lowest rates on record. As recently as two years ago they were about 6.3%. That drop slashes your monthly repayment by a fifth. If inflation picks up, you won't see these mortgage rates again in your lifetime. And if we get deflation, and rates fall further, you can refi.

3. You'll save on taxes. You can deduct the mortgage interest from your income taxes. You can deduct your real estate taxes. And you'll get a tax break on capital gains–if any–when you sell. Sure, you'll need to do your math. You'll only get the income tax break if you itemize your deductions, and many people may be better off taking the standard deduction instead. The breaks are more valuable the more you earn, and the bigger your mortgage. But many people will find that these tax breaks mean owning costs them less, often a lot less, than renting.


The June 13, 2005 cover of Time.

4. It'll be yours. You can have the kitchen and bathrooms you want. You can move the walls, build an extension–zoning permitted–or paint everything bright orange. Few landlords are so indulgent; for renters, these types of changes are often impossible. You'll feel better about your own place if you own it than if you rent. Many years ago, when I was working for a political campaign in England, I toured a working-class northern town. Mrs. Thatcher had just begun selling off public housing to the tenants. "You can tell the ones that have been bought," said my local guide. "They've painted the front door. It's the first thing people do when they buy." It was a small sign that said something big.

5. You'll get a better home. In many parts of the country it can be really hard to find a good rental. All the best places are sold as condos. Money talks. Once again, this is a case by case issue: In Miami right now there are so many vacant luxury condos that owners will rent them out for a fraction of the cost of owning. But few places are so favored. Generally speaking, if you want the best home in the best neighborhood, you're better off buying.

6. It offers some inflation protection. No, it's not perfect. But studies by Professor Karl "Chip" Case (of Case-Shiller), and others, suggest that over the long-term housing has tended to beat inflation by a couple of percentage points a year. That's valuable inflation insurance, especially if you're young and raising a family and thinking about the next 30 or 40 years. In the recent past, inflation-protected government bonds, or TIPS, offered an easier form of inflation insurance. But yields there have plummeted of late. That also makes homeownership look a little better by contrast.

7. It's risk capital. No, your home isn't the stock market and you shouldn't view it as the way to get rich. But if the economy does surprise us all and start booming, sooner or later real estate prices will head up again, too. One lesson from the last few years is that stocks are incredibly hard for most normal people to own in large quantities–for practical as well as psychological reasons. Equity in a home is another way of linking part of your portfolio to the long-term growth of the economy–if it happens–and still managing to sleep at night.

8. It's forced savings. If you can rent an apartment for $2,000 month instead of buying one for $2,400 a month, renting may make sense. But will you save that $400 for your future? A lot of people won't. Most, I dare say. Once again, you have to do your math, but the part of your mortgage payment that goes to principal repayment isn't a cost. You're just paying yourself by building equity. As a forced monthly saving, it's a good discipline.

9. There is a lot to choose from. There is a glut of homes in most of the country. The National Association of Realtors puts the current inventory at around 4 million homes. That's below last year's peak, but well above typical levels, and enough for about a year's worth of sales. More keeping coming onto the market, too, as the banks slowly unload their inventory of unsold properties. That means great choice, as well as great prices.

10. Sooner or later, the market will clear. Demand and supply will meet. The population is forecast to grow by more than 100 million people over the next 40 years. That means maybe 40 million new households looking for homes. Meanwhile, this housing glut will work itself out. Many of the homes will be bought. But many more will simply be destroyed–either deliberately, or by inaction. This is already happening. Even two years ago, when I toured the housing slump in western Florida, I saw bankrupt condo developments that were fast becoming derelict. And, finally, a lot of the "glut" simply won't matter: It's concentrated in a few areas, like Florida and Nevada. Unless you live there, the glut won't have any long-term impact on housing supply in your town.

This Month In Real Estate: September 2010

It's Restaurant Week!!!

Get your bellies ready! Nashville Originals’ semiannual Restaurant Week is NOW, and they are stuck trying to figure out how they can eat at 41 establishments in just seven days. That’s right, 41 – September’s Restaurant Week is the biggest yet.

Restaurant Week is heaven for food lovers, with multiple course, fixed price meals at $20.10 or $30.10 (and the occasional latte at $2.10). Participating restaurants are Nashville’s cream of the crop, including 55 South, Acorn, Allium, Blind Pig No. 55, Bound’ry, Cabana, Caffe Nonna, Cha Chah, Cross Corner Bar & Grill, Crows Nest, DrinkHaus, Fido, Flyte, F. Scott’s, Germantown Café, Goten Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar, Jackson’s, Jimmy Kelly’s Steakhouse, MafiaOza’s, Mambu, Midtown Café, Nero’s Grill, Noshville Midtown, Green Hills and Cool Springs, The Pineapple Room at Cheekwood, PM, Provence Hillsboro Village, Downtown and Green Hills, Puckett’s Gro. & Restaurant, Red Pony, Rumba, SOL, Sunset Grill, Suzy Wong’s House of Yum, tayst, Tin Angel, Watermark, Wild Iris and The Yellow Porch.

Check this link out to visit the menus and prices!!